Aldi eyeing up Shropshire for more stores
Another discount supermarket chain has announced plans to open more stores in Shropshire.
Aldi is eyeing up Shrewsbury for a third store, this time in the centre of town, to add to its outlets near the town football ground and the Arlington Road store which is set to move to Battlefield.
The supermarket chain has also named Dawley and the Wrekin Retail Park, in Telford, as areas in its sights as it aims to open 100 new stores across the UK over the next two years in a £1.3 billion investment.
Aldi, which now has more than 920 stores across the UK, is searching for freehold town-centre or edge-of-centre sites suitable for property development.
The supermarket says it is on the lookout for sites that are big enough to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store and around 100 dedicated parking spaces, preferably on a prominent main road and with good visibility and access.
Additionally, Aldi will also be investing in the development of new and expanded distribution centres.
Richard Thornton, communications director at Aldi UK, said: “We’re continuing to gain even more customers - with over 60 per cent of UK households shopping with Aldi in the last year.
“Our focus is on expanding our store estate, making sure Aldi is accessible to as many of these new shoppers across the country as possible.
"Looking ahead, we are excited to provide millions of new customers with access to Aldi’s award-winning quality and unbeatable value as we create even more places and more ways to shop with us.”
News of the Aldi property hunt comes hot on the heels of Lidl's announcement in the summer that it had earmarked Ludlow, Shrewsbury, Telford and Whitchurch as key areas where it want to buy sites. Dawley, Donnington and Telford Central are also in its sights.
Lidl is hungry for 1,000 stores across the country by the end of 2023.
